Melbourne: A fine century by Jesse Ryder and an impressive five-wicket haul by seamer Mark Gillespie propelled New Zealand 'A' to a convincing seven-wicket win over India 'A' in a limited overs match of the Top End cricket series at Cairns on Monday.
After restricting India 'A' to a modest 216 all out in 50 overs, New Zealand A raced to the target in 34.1 overs for a creditable win.
The vulnerability of India 'A' batsmen to pace was exposed as Kiwi new ball bowlers earned breakthroughs for their team at regular intervals.
Opener Gautam Gambhir (64) and middle order batsman S Badrinath (63) showed some resistance to take India 'A' to a respectable total of 216 all out off 50 overs.
Gambhir played more or less his natural game, hitting nine fours during his 76-ball knock.
But regular fall of wickets forced Badrinath to play the sheet anchor's role as the Tamil Nadu batsman struck only three boundaries in his 97-ball innings.
Gillespie was the wrecker-in-chief, claiming five for 35 off 9.4 overs.
Off-spinner Nathan McCullum was the next successful bowler for New Zealand A with 2 for 41.
The Indians had a dream start while defending a modest total as international R P Singh castled opener Jamie How when the New Zealanders were yet to open the account.
But unperturbed by the early setback, opener Ryder pulverised the Indian bowlers to lay the platform for a comfortable victory before being stumped by Parthiv Patel off Tejinder Pal Singh.
Skipper Peter Fulton hammered an unbeaten 57-ball 54 to see his side through in style.
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